An Unexpected Confession

Human World, Japan, Kuoh.

The first week of the third term passed quickly. Aside from attending school, after-school activities and training once they returned home, the residents of the Alaverus Estate did not face anything out of the ordinary, other than Kokoa transferring into the first year at Kuoh Academy.

Even though Kokoa did transfer into the first year, she was the only one among the devils who found herself in a different class. And the reason for that was simple, Koneko and Ravel's class was full. Another thing to take note of is the fact that the third-year club presidents have been stepping down and choosing their successors. And the Student Council, Occult Research Club, and MMA Club were no exception.

During the second term, there were a few students who campaigned to be the new Student council President. In the end, the race came down to Hanakai Momo and Xenovia Quarta. To the surprise of nearly half of the student body, Xenovia ended up winning the position of Student Council president during the election. Although she was quite quirky and lacked a lot in the common sense department, it was clear to anyone who took the time to look that Xenovia truly wanted what was best for the students of Kuoh Academy.

In the ORC's case, the hand over was much easier. Rias simply passed the mantle of club president over to Asia, who was unsure if she would be a good fit, and made Yuuto the Vice-President. Like the ORC, The MMA Club's handover was relatively straightforward. However, instead of a simple handover, they had a tournament. And Moka, the winner of the tournament became the new President of the club. Then, she chose her best friend, Mizore, to be her VP.

Today, the first Saturday of the new term, all of the residents of the Alaverus Estate, Issei, Asia, Irina, Genshirou, Dante, Lady, and Flora were sitting in the mansion's living room after training. Like they usually do, they were all broken up into smaller groups that either played video games, chatted, or played cards. The only exceptions were James, Scathach, and Irene, who were meeting with an important guest in James art studio.

"*Sigh* This mansion sure has grown since the last time I was here." Sirzechs said while looking at the works in James' studio.

"Yeah, your mom and dad went all out for my Christmas gift." James replied with a shrug.

With that, the room fell into an awkward silence. After a few moments, Sirzechs felt that he should say something. However, James beat him to the punch.

"It looks like you finally understand why I said that you weren't' worthy to be called a Satan of the Underworld." James said, deciding that any more small talk would be useless.

"*Sigh* As much as my instincts are telling me that I should refute that statement with every fiber of my being..." Sirzechs said before taking a deep breath to calm his agitation. Then, he spoke once more. "I know now that you were right. But it really didn't hit home until Sera said it, too."

"Ooh..." James exclaimed with a wince. "You must have really done something stupid if Sera-Tan said something like that."

"Yeah..." Sirzechs replied. Then, he went on to explain what led Serafall to say that.

"Well, I really can't say I feel any sympathy for you." James said with a small smile on his face.

"I'm not asking you for any." Sirzechs said with a slight frown on his face. "But I really am sorry for the way I acted."

"Apology accepted." James said without hesitation.

After another short silence, Sirzechs sat up straight. Then, he looked James in his eyes and spoke.

"So, why did you invite me here, James Sataniel?" Sirzechs asked in a solemn tone.

"Ugh... That's gonna take some getting used to." James said with a wry smile on his face. "Anyway, I called you here to see the team that will be looking for Rizevim. I also called Michael and Azazel."

"What about Lord Odin and lady Yasaka?" Sirzechs asked curiously. "They are part of this alliance as well, right?"

"I'll send the minutes for the meeting to serafall." James said with a shrug. "Then, she can send them to Odin."

"*Sigh* I see." Sirzechs replied with a shake of his head.

Although he wanted to recommend that James let bygones be bygones, he knew James' temper as well as, if not better than, most. He figured that the only reason James forgave him so easily is because of how long they've known each other. And Sirzechs was right about that. Odin, on the other hand, had no personal connection with James. On top of that, he came into his house, ogling his women and disrespecting him.

"And Lady Yasaka?" Sirzechs asked, deciding that it was better to move the conversation forward.

"Well, she's gotta wait until she can leave Kyoto again." James replied. "She spent three days here at Christmas. So, she can't leave the ley line so soon."

"Understood." Sirzechs said with a nod. "Then, I guess she'll be attending via communication magic, right?"

"Right." James replied with a nod of his own.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Rias was sitting across a table from her mother. While Rias was staring at her questioningly, Venelana had a graceful smile on her face while she sipped from a teacup.

"*Sigh* The kiss on the cheek, then the lap pillow made me quite suspicious, Mother." Rias said in a solemn tone. "But you've only gotten bolder and bolder since then. You've even been competing with the other girls for a spot on James' lap. Mother, are you trying to cheat on father with my fiancé?"

Not only Rias, but James' other girls, excluding Scathach and Yasaka, who were not currently in the living room, were curious to know the answer to that question. However, none of them believed that Venelana was cheating on Zeoticus for one simple reason. Leona's killing intent had not flared up during any of Venelana's attempts to seduce James. Over the past two weeks, Rias had tried to ask Venelana about it on several occasion. Unfortunately, something always came up and caused the subject to change. Today, however, seemed like a good time to try to bring this up again.

"No, I promise you, Rias." Venelana said after putting down her teacup. "I am not cheating on your father."

Naturally, that response left Rias even more confused than she already was. There was no way that she would have guessed that her mother and father had gotten divorced without telling her, after all.

"Then why have you been coming on to James so strongly since you started staying here?" Rias asked with even more confusion and equal amounts of frustration in her tone. "The only other reason I can think of is that you're just messing with me."

'If she only knew the half of it.' Leona and Venelana thought at the same time. 'Unfortunately, there's much more to it than that.'

At that moment, James, Scathach, Irene, and Sirzechs were making their way down the stairs from the second floor. When she heard their footsteps, Venelana smiled brightly and signaled Leona stealthily.

"Rias, there is a reason for that." Venelana said with a motherly smile on her face.

"And what would that be?" Rias asked with a frown while crossing her arms under her breasts.

James, Scathach, Irene, and Sirzechs walked into the living room just in time to hear Rias' question, causing Venelana's smile to broaden.

"Because your father and I just finalized our divorce." Venelana revealed nonchalantly. "And now that I'm single and free to mingle again, I've decided to pursue James."

After that, the atmosphere in the room froze. James' mind came to a complete and sudden halt while his body froze mid step. If it were not for Scathach, he would have more than likely fallen to the floor, face first.

*Cough!* *Cough!*

Sirzechs on the other hand, stumbled forward a couple of steps. Then, he covered his mouth when coughed twice. Once he removed his hand from his mouth, he noticed that his hand had been splattered with blood. On top of that, there was a trickle of blood flowing from the left corner of his lips.

Like James, Rias also froze in place. Luckily, she was sitting when she heard the news. Otherwise, there was a good chance that she would have fallen to the floor because everyone around her was also caught off guard by Venelana's declaration.

"Did you get it?" Venelana asked excitedly.

"Yup, I got all their reactions on camera." Leona said just as excitedly. "And they were gold."

"Good." Venelana said with a smile. "Send them to me, and I'll send them to Zeo."

That short conversation brought most of the group back to their senses. Due to Venelana and Leona's little exchange, they could tell that the matter of Venelana getting divorced and pursuing James was a joke. Not a very funny one, but a joke, nonetheless. James being the sole exception. His mind had completely crashed, so he did not hear the conversation between Venelana and Leona.

"*Sigh* Even though this kind of joke isn't very tasteful, but at least it was just a joke." Rias said, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.

Like Rias, Sirzechs was also relieved when he heard the conversation between Venelana and Leona. Then, he pulled a handkerchief from the inner pocket of his jacket. After that, with a smile, he wiped the blood off his hand and mouth. Then, he destroyed the handkerchief with his [Power of Destruction].

"Mother, Ria-Tan is right." Sirzechs said as he walked toward his mother. "That joke really was in poor taste."

"Oh, I can assure you, that was not a joke." Venelana said before taking another sip of her tea. Then, once she put the teacup back on the saucer, she continued. "Zeo and I really have broken up. The divorce was finalized a few days before Christmas."

A moment later, a legal document appeared in Venelana's hand. She then placed it on the table so that everyone could see it.

Naturally, the room went back into an uproar. Rias, when she saw the divorce document, opened her beautiful blue eyes wide. Then, her jaw dropped so fast that no one would be surprised if she had dislocated it.

Sirzechs lost his balance mid stride, resulting in him falling down and sliding across the living room floor for a little more than three feet. (approx. 1 m)

At that point, James' brain finally rebooted. By now, Scathach had sat him down on a sofa while Zest was helping him drink a glass of water, slowly.

"Auntie Venelana..." James said in a tired tone. But he was interrupted.

"No, just call me Venelana." Venelana said with a charming smile.

"Why me?" James continued, ignoring Venelana's proposal. "I mean I know I'm hot, strong as hell and hold a position of power..."

"Wow! His narcissism switch got flipped." Mizore said with a chuckle.

"He's not lying, though." Moka said before licking her lips.

"But that shouldn't have brought on something like this, right?" James finished his question. Then, he continued to emphasize his point. "I mean, you left your husband of centuries for this."

"You're correct, James." Venelana replied with a smile.

"Then, why?" James asked once again.

With James' question, the room fell silent. Then, everyone turned their sights on Venelana. They were also curious why Venelana would go this far.

Meanwhile, Sirzechs was looking at James as if he would challenge him to a duel any second.

'How did this kid get romantic interest from two of the three most important women in my life?' Sirzechs asked himself. Then, he glanced at Grayfia, whose expression had not changed throughout the whole conversation. 'If he lays his hands on my Grayfia, I'll fight him to the death.'

Guessing what Sirzechs was thinking based on his constantly changing facial expressions, Grayfia sighed. Although she had no romantic interest in any men, she had no idea what could happen in the future. But she did know that she did not want Sirzechs popping up to ruin anything that could be. So, she glared at Sirzechs with such intensity that his slightly dangerous thoughts were immediately frozen in his head.

Unfortunately, Sirzechs misunderstood the heat behind the glare. Sirzechs thought that Grayfia was glaring at him because she didn't want him to mess up her pursuit of James. When in reality, she was just trying to tell him that her life was hers to live, and she did not need him butting into it.

"You know, you're a lot like Zeo was when he was younger." Venelana said, finally breaking the silence. "He was strong for his age, talented, and confident. Of course, he was not as strong as you are. Nor did he work as hard. Like most devils, he did not train much at all. But his talent and confidence, as baseless as it was, was attractive. He just didn't have the drive."

The rest of the room remained silent. So, Venelana continued.

"Zeo had two of the three things I was looking for in a partner. Venelana said with a smile. "He had the talent and confidence. But he lacked the drive to improve. But you, James, have all three of these things in spades. You're exactly what I've always wanted in a life partner."

"But you're ending a marriage for this." James said, still not understanding what's going through Venelana's head.

"Honestly, If I were still in love with Zeo, then this would not be happening." Venelana said while shaking her head.

*Ding Dong!*

At that moment, the doorbell rang. So, Zest went toward the front door to answer it. Meanwhile, Venelana continued speaking.

"Zeo and I had acknowledged that neither of us were still in love almost ten years ago." Venelana continued. "So, we talked about it. Then, we both decided, if either of us found someone else that we were interested in, we would end the marriage with no hard feelings or strings attached.

Once again, the room fell into complete silence, and everyone had complicated expressions on their faces. Everyone except for Leona, Venelana, and Grayfia, who knew about Venelana's plan to pursue James beforehand.

However, the silence did not last long. A few moments later, Zest returned, and she led Azazel, Michael, and Gabriel into the living room.

When the three entered the room and felt the awkward atmosphere, Azazel could only look at Zest awkwardly and ask a question.

"Um... Did we come at a bad time?"